The CBO Score In Context: ‘Losing’ Insurance? Or Gaining Freedom From Government Mandates?

In an article in the National Review Online, Doug Badger explains the assumptions made by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in scoring the Senate health care bill. The CBO warned lawmakers that 15 million people will lose medical coverage next year if the Senate GOP’s health-care bill becomes law. However, these people will not really be ‘losing’ insurance; they just won’t be forced to get policies they don’t want.

“In its analysis of the Senate bill, CBO predicts that repealing the tax on the uninsured would next year induce 7 million people to cancel their individual insurance policies, 4 million to drop their job-based coverage, and 4 million others to abandon Medicaid, even though the government provides it free of charge in most cases.”